Review of Zack Snyder's Justice League (2021) by Afatchineseboy — 18 Mar 2021

Things I loved about the movie.

- The fights in the first third have real impact and are really well choreographed. The hits have real impact and are brutal. There's a genuine sense of tension in the first third, especially the fight where Steppenwolf fights the Amazons.

- Some of the shots are gorgeous and beautiful. There's such a love for the comics in the film.

- Barry Allen's first and last scene are gorgeous set pieces.

- Junkie Xl's score uses DC's motifs in a beautiful way, especially Superman's Flight and Hope themes.

- I love how brutal Darkseid is and how they set him up for future installments.

- There's a heroic, grim, mythic tone to the piece that's really welcoming amidst the MCU's quip heavy dialogue.

Things I didn't love.

- While the film has an overall grim tone...nothing really bad happens to the heroes or the world itself (with any lasting consequences), making the whole thing seem uneven. - The characters aren't emotionally or physically challenged in a way with lasting consequences, making Steppenwolf's actions seem light. - The characters (for the exception of one) don't change in any meaningful ways aside from agreeing to join the team. Batman has hope. The flash is goofy. Aquaman is gruff and has funny catchphrase. Wonderwoman is there too.

- The character who does undergo the most change (Cyborg) doesn't have a meaningful relationship with the person who he's trying to save. They neither reconcile nor fall apart, making the ending between them not land emotionally.

- There are whole scenes where nothing happens and it's just a fountain of exposition (see: the epilogue).

- The Flash's last scene is emotionally impactful and beautiful, but it doesn't really address or move forward any of his character's quest or development. It seems like it's just there and the arc leading up to it somehow got cut.

- The film as a whole lacks a sense of momentum and urgency. While bad things happen to the world, our heroes never seem to be in a terrible rush to fix them or suffer any considerable losses that cause them to question their goal.

- The heroes don't really have relationships that develop with each other. They join forces, that's essentially it.

So yeah, I dunno. I don't think ZS' Justice League is a pile of poo or a masterpiece. It's something in the middle. In a better world, I do wonder what the project would've looked like if there was a supportive studio behind it that gave notes to smooth out the storybeats without destroying the original vision of the project.